Coach Troy's High School Update: Weeks 9 & 10
Crimson Wrestlers, Managers, and Families-
Week Seven/Eight Recap:
There is almost too much happening every two weeks to accurately summarize it. Some of the highlights were:
- A 4-2 dual team record complete with a number of impressive individual performances from wrestlers who stepped up to earn big victories or save team points. The final dual of the stretch came down to Heavyweight where Junior Benyam Reda gave about forty pounds to get a big fall to cap the come from behind victory and send the Crimson home happy. Benyam went 5-0 on the day including 2-0 on Varsity and 3-0 in his JV bracket.
- An individual Championship at the Rumble on the Red for Connor Peterson. This tournament is quite possibly the most challenging individual tournament Minnesota wrestlers are eligible for. Connor also broke our school win record with his first match at the Rumble (with 188 Career wins). Congrats Connor!
- Some very impressive results for our girls at Rogers (1st for Liz), Champlin Park (1st for Alyssa and Nahili in the C bracket; Second for Liz, and CC in the A bracket), and Eden Prairie (Second for CC, and Liz; 3rd for Russo; 1st for Kathrine in the B bracket).
- Numerous excellent performances for our JV wrestlers at Rogers and Mounds View including many championships (Ollie Bielat at Rogers; Lamond McCabe, Ollie Bielat, Khoa Nguyen, Alex Fox, Jayshawn Wilkins, Jonathan Hjelmstad, and Benyam Reda at Mounds View).
Each stretch also comes with it’s share of adversity – typically in the form of challenging matches and riding the emotional ups and downs of a wrestling season. However, this week we witnessed a season ending injury to Sophomore Gavin Muehlstein. While injuries are a part of all sports – it’s always tough to see someone who works hard and that we care about get injured like he did. Wishing Gavin a quick and full recovery and hopefully we’ll see him back with the team as soon as he is able. Thinking about you Gavin!
Going forward team dual season is upon us with 8 duals in the books and 10 duals still to go on the season. Our regular season individual tournaments will come to an end next week but we’ll still have 3 dual events (7 total duals) to go. The individual tournaments offer lots of opportunities both for individuals to compete against top JV and Varsity wrestlers and for additional wrestlers to get Varsity opportunities. However, there is nothing like a close dual from a team perspective. It’s a lot of fun to compete as a team and support one another and I’m looking forward to seeing our team continue to wrestle hard for one another.
The next two weeks will take us into the start of our post season (9th graders). It’s time to really buy in and embrace the grind. If we can do that it’s going to be a lot of fun to see if we can continue to earn more than our fair share of highlights!
Week 9 Practice/Meet Schedule:
Monday, 1.12 – Strength Training at 2:10p; Wrestling at 3:10p.
Tuesday, 1.13 – A.M.: Morning practice at 5:45a for Varsity guys and others who bring a partner.
Tuesday, 1.13 - P.M.: Strength Training at 2:10p; Wrestling at 3:10p.
Wednesday, 1.14 - Wrestling room at 3:10p. Mat Boss access before/after practice for those who still need it.
Thursday, 1.15 – Home vs. Wayzata with girls also wrestling Blaine and Two Rivers. Weigh-ins starting at 4p and wrestling beginning at 5p. The JV and girls duals will begin at 5p with girls vs. Wayzata in the main gym following the JV. The Boys Varsity will follow the girls in the main gym. The girls will wrestle Blaine and Two Rivers in the back gym (ideally while the JV competes in the main gym). This is also Alumni night so there will be a short Alumni night presentation before the girls compete in the main gym and a pot luck for all in celebration of our Alumni following the match.
Friday, 1.16 – Boys: Wrestling at 3:10p.
Girls: St. Croix Lutheran all girl’s tournament. The bus is currently scheduled to leave at 2p but I’m still waiting on the tournament information so it will need to be adjusted based on when the weigh-ins are.
Saturday, 1.17 – Varsity, JV, and girls individual tournament at Park Center. The bus leaves at 7:15a. Wrestling is set to start at 9:30a.
Week 10 Practice/Meet Schedule:
Monday, 1.19 – No School. Wrestling at 8a. 9th grade sections wrestle-offs.
Tuesday, 1.20 – A.M.: Morning practice at 5:45a for Varsity guys and others who bring a partner.
Tuesday, 1.20 P.M.: Weight Room at 2:10p; Wrestling at 3:10p. 9th grade sections wrestle-offs as needed.
Wednesday, 1.21 – Wrestling room at 3:10p.
Thursday, 1.22 – Home vs. STMA and Eden Prairie. Schedule as follows:
4p – Weigh-ins
5p – STMA vs. Edina
6p – STMA vs. Maple Grove
7p – Senior and Parent Night Presentation.
7:15p – Edina vs. Maple Grove
There will also be a Team potluck following the meet to celebrate our Seniors and our Senior Parents.
Friday, 1.23 – Wrestling Room at 3:10p
Saturday, 1.24 – Varsity and JV at Orono for an individual tournament and 9th grade (boys and girls individual sections at Buffalo. The girls who are not eligible for 9th grade sections will be at Osseo for a girl only tournament. The bus is scheduled to leave at 7a for Orono and Buffalo tournaments. The girls wrestling at Osseo will just meet at Osseo without a bus. I expect wrestling to start around 9:30a at all three tournaments.
2025 – 2026 Wrestler of the Week Honors:
• Week 2: Alex Fox, Max Schroeder, Alyssa Pearson
• Week 3: Egan Hong, Charlotte Nadolski
• Week 4: Reese Redlinger, Brooklyn True, Gabe Mullen
• Week 5: Connor Peterson, Elizabeth Ofuasia, and Khoa Nguyen
• Week 6: No Competitions.
• Week 7: Ollie Bielat, Jonah Prum, Grant Berg.
Mat Boss Video Access:
You have noticed our amazing managers are recording (as well as scoring) our matches. We will work to send out personal invites to wrestlers at practice this week so they can watch their videos. Wrestlers will only have access to their own matches.
We are also doing what we can to ensure the matches are uploaded and as accurate as possible. Unfortunately, with events sometimes having 6 or more mats we will not be able to record every match. Wrestlers/Parents are encouraged to have someone record their own matches for review purposes as well.
Watching matches opens up all kinds of cool possibilities for the team. The most basic of which is that each wrestler can watch their matches once they are uploaded. Watching back matches can be a great learning tool and is highly encouraged. Have your wrestler make sure I receive their email address and look for their invite to begin utilizing this valuable tool.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
Crossbar, Hello Teams, and Future Communication:
Lastly if you haven’t, please download the Crossbar and HelloTeam Apps, and register to receive future communications. A QR code should be sent out for Hello Team soon and you can register for Crossbar at www.crimson-wrestling.com. Parents and wrestlers should each sign up to receive future communications and schedule changes through the Crossbar and HelloTeam apps. Please let me know if you have any questions with this as we will use these apps for communications throughout the season.
We are officially in the heart of the season – with some of our bigger tournaments of the season coming up within the next couple of weeks. This is the time of the season where all of our wrestlers will be challenged physically and mentally. Ultimately, it’s these challenges that make each wrestler stronger and more prepared for future opportunities (on and off the mat). Parents thanks for all the support you all provide for our wrestlers as they go through the inevitable emotions of a wrestling season. Looking forward to seeing each our wrestlers stay focused and continuing to grind towards the goal of reaching their peak level. Can’t wait to see where it all goes. Go Crimson!
As always let me know if anybody has any questions.
Coach Troy
Mgwrestling99@gmail.com
763-913-0601